River Valley Early Childhood Association (RV-ECA)

Meeting Minutes

Meet the Board

Deborah Dow

President

Deborah is a Program Specialist for Arkansas State University Childhood Services. She is an ERS assessor and provides training and technical assistance for early childhood programs in the River Valley and Northwest Arkansas. She has 20 years of experience working in the field of early childhood as a program specialist, program administrator, and classroom teacher. She has been married for 20 years and has a 15 year old son, too many dogs, 1 cat, and a yard full of chickens. In her spare time she enjoys reading, crafting, and shopping.

Erica Holland

Vice President

Erica has been involved in the field of early childhood education for 16 years. She currently works as the Project Coordinator for Child Care Aware of River Valley and as a Trainer for the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. She has been providing trainings in the River Valley area for the last seven years on various topics related to early childhood. Erica holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education with a Minor in Psychology from the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. She completed her Master’s Degree in Educational Theory and Practice from Arkansas State University. Most recently, she became a Hudson Institute Certified Coach to assist teachers with implementing the knowledge gained at trainings. In addition, she has multiple publications in national magazines including NAEYC’s Teaching Young Childrenand The Mailbox. Erica has worked in child care centers around the nation before returning home to Van Buren, Arkansas to raise her children.

Ashley Napurano

Secretary

Ashley has over 10 years work experience in the Early Education field as a Lab School administrator, teacher, private tutor and special needs caregiver. Ashley received her B.S.E in Communication Disorders from the University of Arkansas and M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from Texas Woman’s University.

Brandy Olivares

Treasurer

Brandy is the Special Service Coordinator for Head Start Child and Family Services serving Crawford and Sebastian counties.